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Full text of "Giving alms no charity, and employing the poor a grievance to the nation, : being an essay upon this great question, whether work-houses, corporations, and houses of correction for employing the poor, as now practis'd in England; or parish-stocks, as propos'd in a late pamphlet, entituled, A bill for the better relief, imployment and settlement of the poor, &c. are not mischievous to the nation, tending to the destruction of our trade, and to encrease the number and misery of the poor."

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LE_ 


^Z     i'ii^i 


C^O.  'yrtiti-l 

Treacl>vell-  Elizabeth-  Phillips  •  Kirsteiif 


THE 

\VILL1AVI  P.  TRENT  COLLECTION 

WORKS  RELATING  TO 

DANIEL  DEFOE 

AND  +IIS  TIME 

T 

THE  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 

OFTHECITYOF 

BOSTON 

y  urcAauii  /ru/Tfy  tH<  yptcottic^  Of 

SUNDRY    TRUST    FUNDS 


v^ —  . 

Clement  •  Charlotte  Harris  •  Whitneg 

FN7I1  :    29  .    3M, 


Giving  Alms  no  Charity, 

And  Employing  the 

POOR 

A  Grievance  to  the 

NATION, 

Being  an 

E    S    S    A    Yi 

Upon  this 

Whether  Work-houfes,  Corporations,  and  Houfes  of 
Corroftion  for  Employing  the  Poor,  as  now  pra- 
ais'd  m  England  \  or  Pari(h-Stocks,  as  proposa  in 
a  late  Pamphlet,  Entituled,  A  Bill  for  the  better  Re* 
lief^  Imployment  and  Settlement  of  the  Poor^  &c.  Are 
not  mifchievous  to  the  Nation,  tending  to  the  DeA 
ftruflion  of  our  Trade,  and  to  Encreafe  the  Num-\ 
ber  and  Mifery  of  the  Poor. 


^y    I^^ni£.i  jiddrejfed  to  the  Parliament  of  England.  Pc/oc^ 

LONDON: 

Printed,  and  Sold  by  the  Bookfellers  of  London  and  We^^' 
fMnfier,    MDCCIV. 


r  3  3 


iWaJKiKli  r      I  »l    M-j;«M»Md>»<» 


5r(9  ir)&^  Knights,  Citizens  and  Bnrgejfes  in  Par^ 
liament  Afjembkd, 

Gentlemen, 

HE  that  has  Truth  and  Juftice,  and  the  Interefl:  of  Eng^ 
land  in  his  Defign,  can  have  nothing  to  fear  from  an 
Englifh  Parliament. 
This  makes  the  Author  of  thefe  Sheets,  however  Def- 
picable  in  himfelf,  apply  to  this  Honourable  Houfe,  without  any 
Apology  for  the  Prefumption. 

Truth,  Gentlemen^  however  meanly  drefsM,  and  in  whatfoever 
bad  Company  fhe  happens  to  come,  was  always  entertain'd  at 
your  Bar ;  and  the  Commons  of  England  mull  ceafe  to  a£l:  like 
themfelves,  or  which  is  worfe,  like  their  Anceftors,  when  they 
ceafe  to  entertain  any  Propofal,  that  offers  it  felf  at  their  Door,  for 
the  general  Good  and  Advantage  of  the  People  they  Reprefent 

I  willingly  grant,  That  'tis  a  Crime  in  good  Manners  to  in- 
terrupt your  more  wei^y  Councils,  and  difturb  your  Debates*, 
with  empty  nauleous  Trifles  in  Value,  or  miftaken  Schemes  ^ 
and  whoever  ventures  to  Addrefs  You,  ought  to  be  well  afTur'd 
he  is  in  the  right,  and  that  the  Matter  fuits  the  Intent  of  youf 
meeting,  viz..  To  difpafchthe  mighty  Affairs  of  the  Kjngdom, 

And  as  I  have  premis'd  this,  fo  I  freely  fubmit  to  any  Cenfure 
this  Honourable  AlTembly  fliall  think  I  deferve,  if  I  have  broke 
in  upon  either  of  thefe  Particulars. 

I  have  but  one  Petition  to  make  with  refpe£l  to  the  Author, 
and  that  is.  That  no  freedom  of  Expreflion,  which  the  Argu- 
ments may  oblige  him  to,  may  beconltru'd  as  a  want  of  Refpecl, 
and  a  breach  of  the  due  Deference  every  Englijh  Man  owes  to  the 
reprefenting  Power  of  the  Nation* 

It  would  be  hard,  that  while  I  am  honeftly  offering  to  your 
Confideration  fomething  of  Moment  for  the  general  Good,  Pre- 

A  2  judice 


I  4] 

judice  Qiould  lay  Snares  for  the  Author,  and  private  Pique  make 
him  an  Offender  for  a  Word. 

Without  entring  upon  other  Parts  of  my  Character,  'tis  enough 
to  acquaint  this  Affembly,  that  I  am  an  Englifb  Freeholder,  and 
have  by  that  a  Title  to  be  concernM  in  the  good  of  that  Commu? 
munity  of  which  I  am  an  unworthy  Member^ 

This  Honourable  Houfe  is  the  Reprefentative  of  all  the  Free- 
holders of  England',  you  are  Aflembrd  for  their  Good,  you  fludy 
their  Intereft,  you  poffefs  their  Hearts,  and  you  hold  the  Strings 
©f  the  general  Purfe. 

To  you  they  haveRecourfe  for  the  Redrefs  of  all  their  Wrongs, 
and  if  at  any  time  one  of  their  Body  can  offer  to  your  Afliflance, 
any  fair,  legal,  honcft  and  rational  Propofal  for  the  publick  Be- 
nefit, it  was  never  known  that  fuch  a  Man  was  either  reje6led  or 
difcourag'd". 

And  on  this  Account  I  crave  the  Liberty  to  aflure  you.  That  the 
Author  of  this  feeks  no  Reward  ;  to  him  it  fliall  always  be  Re- 
ward enough  to  have  been  capable  of  ferving  his  native  Country, 
and  Honour  enough  to  have  ofFer'd  fomething  for  the  publick 
Good  worthy  of  Confideration  in  your  Honourable  Affembly. 

Fauper  Vhiquejacet,  faid  our  famous  Queen  £//**^f/^,  when  in 
her  Progrefs  thro'  the  Kingdom  (he  faw  the  vaft  Throngs  of  the 
Poor,  flocking  to  fee  and  bleis  her;  and  the  Thought  put  her 
Majefty  upon  a  continuM  ftudy  how  to  recover  her  People  from 
that  Poverty,  and  make  their  Labour  more  profitable  to  them-- 
fclves  in  Particular,  and  the  Nation  in  General. 

This  was  eafie  then  to  propofe,  for  that  many  ufeful  Manu^ 
faftures  were  made  in  foreign  Parts,  which  our  People  bought 
with  E«g7//Z'  Money,  and  Imported  for  their  ufe. 

The  Queen,  who  knew  the  Wealth  and  vaft  Numbers  of  Pea- 
pie  which  the  faid  Manufaflures  had  brought  to  the  neighbouring 
Countries  then  under  the  King  o^Spam^  the  Dutch  being  not  yet 
Revolted,  never  left  ofl' endeavouring  what  fhe  happily  brought 
to  pafs,  viz,  the  tranfplanting  mio  Engird  thofe  Springs  of  Riches 
and  People. 

She  faw  the  Flemings  prodigioufly  Numerous,  their  Cities  ftood 
thicker  than  her  Peoples  Villages  in  fome  parts ;  all  forts  of  ufeful 
Manufactures  were  found  in  their  Towns,  and  all  their  People. 

were; 


[5] 

were  rich  and  bufic,  no  Beggars,  no  Idlenefs,  ^nd  confequently 
no  v?'ant  was  to  be  feen  among  them. 

She  {aw  the  Fountainof  all  this  Wealth  and  Workmanfliip,  I 
mean  the  Wool,  was  in  her  own  Hands,  and  FUnders  became  the. 
Seat  of  all  theie  Manufaftures,  not  becaufe  it  was  naturally 
Richer  and  more  Populous  than  other  Countries,  but  becaufe  it. 
lay  near  England^  and  the  Staple  of  the  £»^///Z>  Wool  which  was 
the  Foundation  of  all  their  Wealth,  was  at  AfJtiverp'm  i\iQ  Heart  of 
that  Country. 

From  hence,  it  m  ay  be  faid  of  F/^W^r/,   it  was  not  the  Riches, 
and  the  number  of  People  brought  the  ManufaQures  into  the- 
Low  Countries^  but  it  was  the  Manufadures  brought  the  People 
thither,    and  Multitudes  of  People  make  Trade,  Trade  makes 
Wealth,  Wealth  builds  Cities,   Cities  Enrich  the  Land    round" 
them,  Land  Enrich'd  rifes  in  Value,  and  the  Value  of  Lands  En- 
riches the  Government, 

Many  Proje^s  were  fet  on  foot  in  England  to  Ere6l  tlic  Wool- 
len Manufadlurer  here,  and  in  fome  Places  it  had  found  Encou- 
ragement, before  the  Days  of  this  Queen,  efpecially  as  to  mak- 
ing of  Cloath,-  but  Stuffs,  Bays,  Says,.  Serges,    and  fuch  like. 
Wares  were  yet  wholly  the  Work  of  the  Flemings, 

At  laft  an  Opportunity  offer'dperfedlly  unlook'd  for,  viz.  The 
Perfecution  of  the  Proteftants,  and  introducing  the  Spanijk  In- 
quifition  into  Flanders,  with  the  Tyranny  of  the  Duke  D'Alva. . 

It  cannot  be  an  ungrateful  Obfervation,  here  to  take  notice  how 
Tyranny  and  Perfecution,  the  one  an  OppreHion  of    Property 
the  other  of  Confcience,  always  Ruine  Trade,  Impoverifb  Nati- 
ons,  Depopulate  Countries,    Dethrone  Princes,    and  Deftroy 
Peace. 

When  an  Englijh  Man  refleds  on  it,  he  cannot  without  infi- 
nite Satisfaction  look  up  to  Heaven,  and  to  this  Honourable. 
Houfe^  that  asthefpring,  this,  as  the  Stream /row  and  bj  which 
the  Felicity  of  this  Nation  has  obtain'da  Pitch  of  Glory,  Superior 
to  all  the  People  in  the  World. 

Your  Councils  efpecially,  when  bleft  fi'om  Heaven,  as  ncHP  we 
trujlthey  are,  with  Principles  of  Unanimity  and  Concord,  cam 
oever  fail  to  make  Trade  FJouriQ],    War  Succefsful,   Peace,  cer- 

raifl., . 


in 


tain,  Wealth  flowing,   Bleffings  probable,  the  Queert  GlotlaUsJ 
and  the  People  Happy. 

Our  unhappy  Neighbours  of  the  Lorv  Couniries  were  the  very 
Reverfe  of  whit  we  blefs  ourfehks'for  inYou. 

Their  Kings  were  Tyran ts, their  Governours  Perfecutors,  their 
Armies  Thieves  and  Blood- hounds. 

Their  People  Divided,  their  Councils  Codfus'd,  and  their  Mi- 
feries  Innumerable. 

D'^/^/^  the  S/'^»///^  Governor,  Befieg'd  their  Cities,  Decimated 
the  Inhabitants,  Murther'd  their  Nobility,  Profcrib'd  theii*  Princes 
and  Executed  1 8000  Men  by  the  Hand  of  the  Hang-m'an.  ' 

Confcience  was  trampPd  underfoot,  Religion  and  Refornlati- 
on  hunted  like  a  Hare  upon  the  Mountains,  the  Inquifition  thrcat- 
ned,  and  Foreign  Armies  introduc'd.  •        '■" '   • 

Property  fell  a  Sacrifice  to  Abfolute  Power,  the  Countrey  was 
Ravag'd,  the  Towns  Plunder'd,  the  Rich  Con fifcated,  the  Poor 
Starv'd,  Trade  Interrupted,  and  the  lorh.  Penny  demanded. 

TheCbnfequenceof  this  was,  as  in  all  Tyrannies  and.  Perfecntr--^ 
ons  it  isy  the  People  fled  and  fcatter'd  themfelves  in  their  Neigh- 
bours Countries,  Trade  languifh'd,  Manufaftures  went  abroad, 
and  never  return'd,  Confufion  reign'd,  and  Poverty  fucceeded. 

The  Multitude  that  remain'd,  pulh'd  to  all  Extremities,  were 
fofc'd  to  obey  the  Voice  of  Nature,  and  in  their  own  jufl:  Defence 
to  take  Arms  againft  their  Governours. 

Dejlruciion  itfelfhas  its  ufes  in  the  IVor/d,  the  A  (lies  of  one  Ci- 
ty Rebuilds  another,  and  God  Almighty,  whonever  aftsin  vain, 
brought  the  Wealth  of  E^^^/^W,  and  the  Power  of  Holland  into 
the  World  from  the  Ruirte  of  the  Flemijh  Liberty, 

The  D/zrcA  in  defence  of  their  Liberty  revolted,  renounc'd 
their  Tyrant  Prince,  and  profper'd  by  Heaven  and  tl-e  Afliftance 
oi England,  ereded  the  greateft  Common- wealth  in  the  World. 

Innumerable  Obfervations  would  flow  from  this  pare  of  the 
prefent  Subjed,  but  Brevity  is  my  fl:udy,  I  am  not  teaching ;  for 
1  know  wholfpeak  to,  but  relating  and  obferving  the  Connexi- 
on of  Caufes,  and  the  wonderous  Births  which  lay  then  in  the 
Womb  of  Providence,  and  are  fince  come  to  life. 

Particularly  how  Heaven  dire£led  the  Oppreflion  and  Tyranny 
of  the  Poor  Ihould  be  the  Wheel  to  turn  over  the  great  Machine 
of  Trade  from  Flanders  into  England^  Afld 


C  ^  J 

And  howthc  Pfirrecutjon  and  Cruelty  of  the  Spxmards  again H: 
Religion  fliould  be  dire£l:ed  by  thefqcret  Over-ruling  Hand,  to  be 
theFoundatiopof  aPepple,  an4  a^^dy  that  fliould  in  Ages  then 
to  pme,  be  ocepf  the  ebie(Pul\^4r5^^.pi£ti3ft 
jj^eligioa  they  fpught  tpfdeftr(;jjy^,  ■  i   ^   'j  J  ;'  ' 

'  ^Ip  this  generaliluinejof  Trade, and  Liberty,  England,  md^^^ 
aiSaiaof  what  fhe  never  yet  lod,  and  of  what  fhe  has  fince  en- 
creas'd  to  an  inconceivible  Magnitude. 

As  D'Jte  worried  the  poor  F/^/^i/s?^/,  the  Queen  o^EngUndx^- 
lertain'd  thetji,  xherilh'd  tbem^  invited  them,  encoufag'dthem; 

Thoufands  of  .innocent  People  fled  from  all  Parts  from  the  Fu- 
ry of  this  Mercilefs  Man,  and  as  England,  to  her  Honour  has  al- 
ways been  the  San£luary  of  her  diftrefs'd  Neighbours,  fo  now 
fhe  was  fo  to  her  (jpecial  and  particular  Profit. 

TheQueen  who  (aw  the  Opportunity  put  into  her  hands  which  fhe 
had  fo  long  wifliM  for,  not  only  receiv'd  kindly  the  E2j;il'd  Flemings^ 
but  invited  over  all  that  would  cpnae,  prom ifing  them  allpoflible 
Eno0uragement,Priviledges  and  Freedom  of  her  Ports^nd  the  like. 

This  brought  over  a  vaft  multitude  of  Flemings,  H^alloons, 
and  Dutch ^  who  with  their  whole  Families  fettled  at  Norwich^  at 
Ipfwich,  Colchejler,  Canterbury^  Exeter,  and  the  like.  From  thefe 
came  the  Walloon  Church  at  Canterbury,  and  the  Dutch  Churches 
Norwich,  Colchejier  and  Tarmouth ;  from  hence  came  the  True- 
born  E«^///S  Families  at  thofe  Places  with  Foreign  Names;!  as 
thQDe  Finks  at  Norwich,  the  Reborvs  at  Colchejier,  thQ  Papilons,, 
&c.  at  Canterbury,  Families  to  whom  this  Nation  are  much  in 
debt  for  the  firft  planting  thofe  Manufadlures,  from  which  we 
have  fince  rais'd  the  greateft  Trades  in  the  World. 

This  wife  Queen  knew  that  number  of  Inhabitants  are  the 
Wealth  and  Strength  of  a  Nation,  flie  was  far  from  that  Opinion 
we  have  of  late  Ihown  too  much  of  in  complaining  that  Foreigners 
came  to  take  the  Bread  out  of  our  Mouths,  and  ill  treating  on 
that  account  the  French  Proteflants  who  fled  hither  for  Refuge  io; 
the  late  Perfecution. 

Some  have  faid  that  above  50000  o£them  fettled  here,  and- 
would  have  made  it  a  Grievance,  tho'  without  doubt  'tiseafie  to 
make  it  appear  that  $00000  iporewould  be  both  ufcful  and  pro- 
fitabk  to  this  Nation. 

Upon; 


Upon  the  fetling  of  thefe  Forreigners,  the  Scale  of  Trade  vift- 
bly  turn-d  both  here  and  in  Ft/inders, 

ThQ  Flemings  taught  our  Women  and  Children  to  Spin,  the 
Youth  to  Weave,  the  Men  entred  the  Loom  to  labour  inftead  of 
going  abroad  to  feek  their  Fortunes  %y  the  War,  the  feveral 
Trades  of  B^yts  at  Colchefler,  Sayes  and  Perpets,  at  Sudbury y 
Jpfrvichy  &c.  Spufi  at  Norwich^  Serges  at  Exeter^  Silks  2X  Canterbu- 
ry^ and  the  like,  began  to  flourifh.  All  the  Counties  round  felt 
the  Prcfit,  the  Poor  were  fet  to  Work,  the  Traders  gain'd  Wealth, 
and  Multitudes  of  People  flock'd  to  the  feveral  Parts  where  thefe 
Manufadures  were  creQed  for  Employment,  and  the  Growth  of 
England^  both  in  Trade,  Wealth  and  People  fmce  that  time,  as  it 
is  well  known  to  this  Honourable Houfe  ;  fothe  Caufesof  it  ap- 
pear to  be  plainly  the  Introducing  of  thefe  Manufa£lures,  and  no- 
thing elfe. 

Nor  wasthe  Gain  made  here  by  it  more  vifible  than  the  lofs  to 
the  Flemings,  from  hence,  and  not  as  is  vainly  fuggefted  from 
the  building  the  Dutch  Fort  of  Lillo  on  the  Scheld,  came  the  De- 
cay of  that  flourifliing  City  oi  Antwerp,  From  hence  it  is  plain 
the  Flemings,  an  Induflrious  Nation,  finding  their  Trade  ruin'd 
at  once,  turn'd  their  Hands  to  other  things,  as  making  of  Lace^ 
Linnen,  and  the  like,  and  the  Dutch  to  the  Sea  Affairs  and  Fifh- 

ing. 

From  hence  they  become  Poory  thin  of  People,  and  mak  in 
Trade,  the  Flux  both  of  their  Wealth  and  Trade,  running 
wholly  into  England. 

I  humbly  crave  leave  to  fay,  this  long  Introduftion  ihall  not  be 
thought  ufelefs,'  when  I  (hall  bring  it  home  by  the  Procefs  of  thefe 
Papers  to  the  Subjed  now  in  hand,  viz,.  The  Providing  for  and 
Employing  the  Poor. 

Since  the  Times  of  Queen  Elizabeth  this  Nation  has  gone  onto 
a  Prodigy  of  Trade,  of  which  the  Encreafe  of  our  Cuftoms 
from  400000  Crowns  to  two  Millions  of  Pounds  Sterling,  per  Ann. 
is  a  Demonftration  beyond  the  Power  of  Argument ;  and  that  this 
whole  Encreafe  depends  upon,  and  is  principally  occafion'd  hy  the 
encreafe  of  our  Manufadurers  is  fo  plain,  I  ihall  not  take  up  any 
voom  here  to  make  it  out. 

Having 


t9l 


Having  thus  given  an  Account  how  we  came  to  be  a  rich,  fiou- 
rifhing  and  populous  Nation,  I  crave  leave  asconcifely  as  lean  to 
examine  how  we  came  to  be  Poor  again,  if  it  muft  be  granted  that 
we  are  fo. 

By  Poor  here  I  humbly  defire  to  be  underftood,  not  that  we 
are  a  poor  Nation  in  general ;  I  ihould  undervalue  the  bounty  of 
Heaven  to  England^  and  ad  with  lefs  Underftanding  than  raoft 
Men  are  Mafters  of,  if  I  fliould  not  own,  that  in  general  we  are  as 
Rich  a  Nation  as  any  in  the  World ;  but  by  Poor  I  mean  burthen'd 
with  a  crowd  of  clamouring,  unimploy'd,  unprovided  for  poor 
People,  who  make  the  Nation  uneafie,  burthen  the  Rich,  clog  our 
Parifhes,  and  make  themfelves  worthy  of  Laws,  and  peculiar 
Management  to  difpofe  of  and  dired  them  how  thefe  came  to  be 
thus  is  the  Qucftion. 

And  firft  I  humbly  crave  leave  to  lay  thefe  Heads  down  as 
fundamental  Maxims,  which  I  am  ready  at  any  time  to  Defend 
and  make  out. 

1.  There  is  /'/?  England  more  Labour  than  Hands  to  perform  it ^  and 
confequently  a  want  of  People ^  not  of  Employment, 

2.  A^(!?  A/;2;?/«  England,  of  found  Limbs  and  Senfes^  canbePoormeer" 
lyfor  want  of  Work. 

5.  All  our  Work-houfeSy  Corporations  and  Charities  for  employing  the 
Poor,  and  fet ting  them  to  IVork,  as  now  they  are  employed,  or  any 
Acis  of  Parliament  to  empower  Overfeers  of  Parijhes,  or  Parijhes 
themfelves,  to  employ  the  Poor,  except  as  jhall  be  hereafter  excepted, 
are  J  and  will  be  pub  lick  Naufances,  Mifchiefs  to  the  Nation  which 
ferve  to  the  Ruin  of  Families,  and  the  Encreafe  of  the  Poor. 
4.  That  "'tis  a  Regulation  of  the  Poor  that  is'wanted  in  England,  not 
a  fet  ting  them  to  Work. 

« 
If  after  thefe  things  are  made  out,  I  am  enquired  of  what  this 
Regulation  fhould  be,  'I  am  no  more  at  a  lofs  to  lay  it  down  than  I 
an^o  affirm  what  is  above ;  and  fhall  always  be  r€ady,when  call'd 
to  It,  to  make  fuch  a  Propofal  to  this  Honourable  Houfe,  as  with 
their  Concurrence  Hiall  for  ever  put  a  flop  to  Poverty  and  ^Qg- 
gery,  Parifh  Charges,  AiTeffments  and  the  like,  in  this  Nation. 

If  fuch  offers  as  thefe  fhall  be  (lighted  and  rejeded,  I  have  the 
Satisfadion  of  having  difcharg'd  my  Duty,  and  the  Conftquence 
muii  be,  that  complaining  will  be  continued  in  our  Streets. 

B  •  'Tis 


'TIs  my  misfortune,  that  while  I  ftudy  to  make  every  Head  f(> 
concife,  as  becomes  me  in  things  to  be  brought  before  fo  Honoura- 
ble and  Auguft  an  AlTembly,  I  am  obligM  to  be  fhort  upon  Heads 
that  in  their  own  Nature  would  very  well  admit  of  particular  Vo- 
lumes to  explain  them.. 

I.  I  affirm,  Tha.t  in  Yx^^2SiA  there  is  more  Labour  thaif  Hands 
to  -perform  in    This  I  prove, 

i/.  From  the  dearnefs  of  Wages,  which  in  EMgUnd  out  goes 
all  Nations  in  the  World  ;  znd  I  how  no  greater  Demonjlration  in 
Trade,  Wages,  like  Exchanges,  Rife  and  Fall  as  the  Remitters 
and  Drawers,  the  Employers  and  the  Work-men,  Ballance  one 
another. 

The  Employers  are  the  Remitters,the  Work-men  are  the  Draw- 
ers, if  there  are  more  Employers  than  Work- men,  the  price  of 
Wages  muft  Rife,  becaufe  the  Employer  wants  that  Work  to  Be 
done  more  than  the  Poor  Man  wants  to  do  it,  if  there  are  more 
Work-men  than  Employers  the  price  of  Labour  falls,  becaufe  the 
Poor  Man  wants  his  Wages  more  than  the  Employer  wants  to 
have  his  Bufmefs  done. 

Trade,  like  all  Nature,  mod:  obfequioufly  obeys  the  great  Law 
of  Caufe  and  Confequence ;  and  this  is  the  occafion  why  even  all 
the  greateft  Articles  of  Trade  follow,  and  as  it  were  pay  Homage 
to  this  feemingly  Minute  and  Inconfiderable  Thing,  Tin  por- 
Man'^s  Labour, 

I  omit,  with  fome  pain,  the  many  very  ufeful  Thoughts  that 
occur  on  this  Head,  topreferve  the  Brevity  I  owe  to  the  Dignity 
of  that  AlTembly  I  am  writing  to.  .But"  I  cannot  but  Note  how 
from  hence  it  appears,  that  the  Glory,  the  Strength,  the  Riches, 
the  Trade,  and  all  that's  valuable  in  a  Nation,  as  to  its  Figure  in 
the  World,  depends  upon  the  Number  of  its  People,  be  they  ne- 
ver fo  mean  or  poor  ;  the  confumption  of  Ma'nufadures  encreafes 
theManufadurers;  the  number  of  Manufacturers  encreafes  the 
Confumption  ^  Provifions  are  confum'd  to  feed  them.  Land  Im- 
prov'd,  and  more  Hands  employ'd  to  furniflh  Provifion :  Allfhe. 
Wealth  of  the  Nation,  and  all  the  Trade  is  produc'd  by  Num- 
bers of  People ;  but  of  this  by  the  way. 

The  price  of  Wages  not  only  determines  the  Difference  between 
the  Employer  and  the  Work  man,  but  it  rules  the  Rates  of  every 
Market,  If  Wages  grows  high,  Provifions  rife  in  Proportion,  and, 


I  humbly  conceive  it  to  be  a  miftake  in  thofe  People,  who  fay  La- 
bour in  fuch  partsof  £/3g/4Wis  cheap  becaufeProvifions  are  cheap, 
but  'tis  plain,  Provifions  are  cheap  there  becaufe  Labour  is  cheap, 
and  Labour  is  cheaper  in  thofe  Parts  than  in  others;  becaufe  being 
remoter  from  London  there  is  not  that  extraordinary  Difproportion 
between  the  Work  and  the  Number  of  Hands;  there  are  more 
Hands,  and  confequently  Labour  cheaper. 

'Tis  plain  to  any  obferving  Eye,  that  there  is  an  equal  plenty 
of  Provifions  in  feveral  of  our  South  and  Weftern  Counties,  as  iri 
'l^orkjhirej  and  rather  a  greater,  and  I  believe  I  could  make  it  out, 
that  a  poor  labouring  Man  may  live  as  cheap  in  Kfnt  or  SuJJex  as  in 
the  Bilhoprick  of  Durham;  and  yet  in  Kjfii  a  poor  Man  fhall  earn 
7  /.  los.  gs.  ^  Week,  and  in  the  Nortb  4/.  or  perhaps  lefs ;  the 
difference  is  plain  in  this,  that  in  ^e;?^  there  is  a  greater  want  of 
People,  in  Proportion  to  the  Work. there,  than  in  the  North. 

And  this  on  the  other  hand  makes  the  People  ofournorthen 
Countries  fpread  themfelvesfomuch  totheSouth,whereTrade,War 
and  the  Sea  carrying  offfo  many,  there  is  a  greater  want  of  Hands. 

And  yet  'xis  plain  there  is  Labour  for  the  Hands  which  remain 
in  the  North,  or  elfethe  Country  would  be  depopulated,  and  the 
People  come  all  away  to  the  South  to  kck  Work ;  and  even  in  7Wk' 
fiirej  where  Labour  ischeapeft,  the  People  can  gain  more  by  their 
Labour  than  in  any  of  the  Manufaduring  Countries  of  Germany^ 
Italy  or  France^  and  live  much  better. 

If  there  was  one  poor  Man  mEngUndmore  than  there  was  Work 
to  employ,  either  fomebody  d(e  mull:  ftand  ftill  for  him,  or  he 
mull  be  ftarv'd;  if  another  Man  (lands  llill  for  him  he  wants  a 
days  Work,  and  goes  to  feek  it,  and  by  confequence  fupplants  a- 
nother,  and  this  a  third,  and  this  Contention  brings  it  to  this; 
no  faysthe  poor  Manj  That  Is  like  to  he  put  out  of  his  Work  ^  rather 
than  that  Man  (hall  come  in  I'll  do  it  cheaper ;  nay,  fays  the  other, 
but  I'll  do  it  cheaper  than  you ;  and  thus  one  poor  Man  wanting 
but  a  Days  work  would  bring  down  the  price  of  Labour  in  a 
whole  Nation,  for  the  Man  cannot  ilarve,  and  will  work  for  any 
thing  rather  than  want  it. 

It  may  be  Obje^led  here,  This  is  contradicled  by  our  Number 
ofBeggars. 

I  am  forry  to  fay  I  am  oblig'd  here  to  call  begging  an  Employ- 
ment, fince  'tis  plain,  if  there  is  more  Work  than  Hands  to  perform 

B  2  ir, 


C  1=  ] 

ir,  no  Man  that  has  his  L/W/ and  his  vJ^;//^/ need  to  beg,  andthofe 
that  have  not  ought  to  be  put  into  a  Condition  not  to  want  it. 

So  that  begging  is  a  meer  fcandal  in  the  General,  in  the  Able  'tis 
a  fcandal  upon  their  Induftry,  and  in  the  Impotent  'tis  a  fcandal 
upon  the  Country. 

Nay,  the  begging,  as  now  praclic'd,  is  a  fcandal  upon  our  Cha- 
rity, and  perhaps  the  foundation  of  all  our  prefent  Grievance-— 
How  can  it  be  pofTible  that  any  Man  or  Woman,  who  being 
found  in  Body  and  Mind,  may  as  'tis  apparent  they  may,  have 
Wages  for  their  Work,  fhould  be  fo  bafe,  fo  meanly  fpirited,  as' 

to  beg  an  Alms  for  God-fake Truly  the  fcandal  lies  on  our 

Charity ;  and  People  have  fuch  a  Notion  in  England  of  being  pit- 
tiful  and  charitable,  that  they  encourage  Vagrants,  and  by  a  mi- 
ftaken  Zeal  do  more  harm  than  good. 

This  is  a  large  Scene,  and  much  might  be  faid  upon  it ;  I  (hall 
abridge  it  as  much  as  poffible- — .  The  Poverty  of  England  does 
not  lye  among  the  craving  Beggars  but  among  poor  Families, 
where  the  Children  are  numerous,  and  where  Death  or  Sicknefs 
hasdepriv'd  them  of  the  Labour  of  the  Father;  thefe  are  the 
Houfes  that  the  Sons  and  Daughters  of  Charity,  if  they  would  or- 
der it  well,  fhould  feek  out  and  relieve;  an  Alms  ill  directed  may 
be  Charity  to  the  particular  Perfon,.  but  becomes  an  Injury  to  the 
Publick,  and  no  Charity  to  the  Nation.  As  for  the  craving  Poor, 
I  am  perfwaded  I  do  them  no  wrong  when  I  fay,  that  if  they 
were  Incorporated  they  would  be  the  richeft  Society  in  the  Na- 
tion ;  and  the  reafon  why  fo  many  pretend  to  want  Work  is,  that 
they  can  live  fo  well  with  the  pretence  of  wanting  Work,  they 
would  be  mad  to  leave  it  and  Work  in  earneft ;  and  I  affim  of  my 
own  knowledge,  when  I  have  wanted  a  Man  for  labouring  work, 
and  offer'd  9  s,  per  Week  to  ftrouling  Fellows  at  my  Door,  they 
have  frequently  told  me  to  my  Face,  they  could  get  more  a  beg- 
ging, and  I  once  fet  a  lufty  Fellow  in  the  Stocks  for  making  the 
Experiment. 

I  fhall,  in  its  proper  place,  bring  this  to  a  Method  of  Tryal, 
fince  nothing  but  Demonftration  will  affeQ:  us,  'tis  an  eafie  matter 
to  prevent  begging  in  England^  and  yet  to  maintain  all  our  Impo- 
tent Poor  at  far  lefs  charge  to  the  Pariflies  than  they  now  areob- 
lig'd  to  be  at. 

When  Queen  Elizabeth  had  gain'd  her  Point  as  to  Manufaftories 


in  EngUnd^  fhe  had  fairly  laid  the  Foundation,  fhe  thereby  found 
out  the  way  how  every  Family  might  live  upon  their  own  Labour, 
like  a  wife  Princefs  fhe  knew  'twould  be  hard  to  force  People  to 
Work  when  there  was  nothing  for  them  to  turn  their  Hands  to; 
but  aflbon  as  flie  had  brought  the  matter  to  bear,  and  there  was 
Work  for  every  body  that  had  no  mind  to  ftarve,  then  fhe  apply'd 
her  felf  to  make  Laws  to  oblige  the  People  to  do  this  Work,  and 
to  punifh  Vagrants,  and  make  every  one  live  by  their  own  La- 
bour ;  all  her  Succeflbrs  followed  this  laudable  Example,  and  from 
hence  came  all  thofe  Laws  againfl:  fturdy  Beggars,  Vagabond?, 
Stroulers,d"(r.  which  had  they  been  feverely  put  in  Execution  by 
our  Magiftrates,  'tis  prefum'd  thefe  Vagrant  Poor  had  not  fo  en- 
creas'd  upon  us  as  they  have. 

And  it  feems  ftrange  to  me,  from  what  juft  Ground  we  proceed 
now  upon  other  Methods,  and  fancy  that 'tis  now  our  Bulinefsto 
find  them  Work,  and  to  Employ  them  rather  than  to  oblige  them 
to  find  themfelves  Work  and  go  about  it. 

From  thismiftaken  Notion  come  all  our  Work-houfes  and  Cor- 
porations, and  the  fame  Error,  with  fubmiffiori,  I  prefume  was 
the  birth  of  this  Bill  now  depending,  which  enables  every  Parifli 
to  ere£l  the  Woollen  Manufacture  within  it  felf,  for  the  employ- 
ing their  own  Poor. 

'Tis  this  miftake  of  this  part  of  the  Bill  only  which  I  am  en- 
quiring into,  and  which  I  endeavour  to  fet  in  a  true  light. 

In  all  the  Parliaments  fiqce  the  Revolution,  this  Matter  has 
been  before  them^  and  I  am  juftified  in  this  attempt  by  the  Houfe 
of  Commons  having  frequently" appointed  Committees  to  receive 
Propofals  upon  this  Head. 

As  my  Propofal  is  General,  I  prefume  to  offer  it  to  the  Gene- 
ral Body  of  the  Houfe ;  if  I  am  commanded  to  explain  any  part 
of  it,  I  am  ready  to  do  any  thing  that  may  be  ferviceable  to  this 
great  and  noble  Defign. 

As  the  former  Houfes  of  Commons  gave  all  poffibic  Encou- 
ragement to  fuch  as  could  offer,  or  but  pretend  to  offer  at 
this  needful  thing,  fo  the  imperfed  Effays  of  feveral,  whether  for 
private  or  publick  Benefit.  I  do  not  attempt  to  determine  which 
have  fince  been  made,  and  which  have  obtain'd  the  Powers  and 
Conditions  they  have  defir'd,  have  by  all  their  Effeds  demonftra- 
ted  the  weaknefs  of  their  Defign  j  and  that  they  either  underfiood 

nor 


Eh] 

not  tlie  Pifeafe ,    or   Icnow    not    the    proper  Cure   for  it. 

The  Imperfeftion  of  all  thefe  Attempts  is  acknowlcdg'd,  not 
only  in  the  Preamble  of  this  new  Aft  of  Parliament,  but  even  in 
the  thing,  in  that  there  is  yet  occafion  for  any  new  Law. 

And  having  furvey'd,  not  the  neceffity  of  a  new  A6:,  but  the 
Contents  of  the  AQ:  which  has  been  proposed  as  a  Remedy  in  this 
Cafe ;  I  cannot  but  offer  myObje£lionsagainft  the  Sufficiency  of 
the  Propofal,  and  leave  it  to  the  Confideracion  of  this  Wife  Af- 
fembly,  and  of  the  whole  Nation. 

I  humbly  hope  the  Learned  Gentlemen,  under  whofe  Dire- 
Etion  this  Law  is  now  to  proceed,  and  by  whofe  Order  it  has 
been  Printed,  will  not  think  himfelfperfonally  concern'd  in  this 
Cafe,  his  Endeavours  to  promote  fo  good  a  Work,  as  the  Re- 
lief, Employment,  and  Settlement  of  the  Poor  merit  the  Thanks 
and  Acknowledgment  of  the  whole  Nation,  and  no  Man  fhall 
fee  more  ready  to  pay  his  fhare  of  that  Debt  to  him  than  my  felf. 
But  if  his  Scheme  happen  to  be  fomething  fuperficial,  if  he  comes 
in  among  the  numberofthoft  who  have  not  fearch'd  this  Wound 
to  the  bottom,  if  die  Methods propos'd  are  not  fuch  as  will  either 
anfwer  his  own  Defigns  or  the  Nations,  I  cannot  think  my  felf  ob- 
ligM  to  difpenfe,  with  my  Duty  to  the  Publick  Good,  to  pre- 
ferve  a  Perfonal  Value  for  his  Judgment,  tho'  the  Gentleman's 
Merit  be  extraordinary. 

Wherefore,  as  in  all  the  Schemes  I  have  feen  laid  for  the  Poor, 
and  in  this  Aft  now  before  your  Honourable  Houfe;  the  general 
Thought  ofthePropofers  runs  upon  the  Employing  the  Poor  by 
Work-houfes,  Corporations,  Houfes  of  Correftion,  and  the 
like,  and  that  I  think  it  plain  to  be  feen,  that  thofe  Propofals  come 
vaftly  (hort  of  the  main  Defign.  Thefe  Sheets  are  humbly  laid 
before  you,  as  well  to  make  good  what  is  alledg'd,  viz.  That 
all  thefe  Work-houfes,  &c.  Tend  to  the  Encreafe,  and  not  the 
Relief  of  the  Poor,  as  to  make  an  humble  Tender  of  mean  plain, 
but  I  hope,  rational  Propofals  for  the  more  effeftual  Cure  of  this 
grand  Difeafe. 

In  order  to  proceed  to  this  great  Challenge,  I  humbly  defire 
the  Bills  already  pafs'd  may  be  review'd,  the  PrafticeofourCor. 
poration  Work-houfes,  and  the  Contents  of  this  propofed  Aft 
examin'd. 

la 


C  ^5] 


In  all  thefe  it  will  appear  that  the  Method  chiefly  propofed 
for  the  Employment  of  our  Poor,  is  by  fetting  them  to  Work  oa 
the  feveral  Manufa^ures  before  men  tion'd  ',2LsSfmmng^WeAvifig^ 
and  Manufafturingour  EfjglijhWool, 

All  our  Work-houfes,  lately  'EvQdi^A'mEngUnei,  are  in  gene- 
ral thus  Employ'd,  for  which  without  enumerating  Particulars, 
I  humbly  appeal  to  the  Knowledge  of  the  feveral  Members  of  this 
Honourable  Houfe  in  their  re fpedive  Towns  where  fuch  Corpo- 
rations have  been  ereQ:ed. 

In  the  prefent  Acl  now  preparing,  as  Printed  by  Direftlon  of 
a  Member  of  this  Honourable  Houfe,  it  appears,  that  in  order  tcr 
fetthe  Poor  to  Worky  it  fh^ill  h  Luivful  for  the  Overfeers  of  every 
Town,  or  of  one  or  Wi?rt?  Towns  joyn'd  together  to  occupy  Any 
'Fradey  Myftery^  &C.  And  raife  Stocks  for  the  carrying  them  on  for 
the  fetting  the  Poor  at  PVork,  and  for  the  fur  chafing  fVoo/^  Iron, 
Hemp^  Flax,  Thready  or  other  Materials  for  that  Purpofi.  Vide 
the  A^  Pablifh'^d  by  Sir  Humphry  Mackworth. 

And  that  Charities  given  fo  and  fo,  and  not  exceeding  200/. 
per  Annum  for  this  Purpofe,  Qiall  be  Incorporated  of  Courfe  for  • 
thefe  Ends. 

In  order  now  to  come  to  the  Cafe  in  hand,   it  is  neceffary  t(f- 
premife^  that  the  thing  now  in  debate  is  not  the  Poor  of  this  or  that 
particular  Town.    The  Houfe  of  Commons  are  ading  like  them-  - 
iekes,   as  they  are  the  Reprelentatives  of  all  the  Commons  oF 
England^  'cis  the  Care  of  all  the  Poor  of  England  which  lies  be- 
fore them,  not  of  this  or  that  particular  Body  of  the  Poor. 

In  proportion  to  this  great  Work,  I  am  to  be  underfVood  that 
thefe  Work-houfes,  Houfes  of  Corre£lion,  and  Stocks  to  Em- 
ploy the  Poor  may  be  granted  to  lefTen  the  Poor  in  this  or  that 
particular  part  of  England',  and  we  are  particularly  told  of  that 
at  Brijlol,  that  it  has  been  fuch  a  Terror  to  the  Beggars  that  none 
of  the  ftouling  Crew  will  come  near  the  City.  But  all  this  al- 
low'd,  in  general,  'twill  be  felt  in  the  main,  and  the  end  will  be 
au  Encreafe  of  our  Poor. 

1.  The  Manufactures  that  thefe  Gentlemen  Employ  the  Poor 
upon, are  all  fuch  as  are  before  exercis'd  in  England, 

2.  They  are  all  fuch  as  are  m^nag'd  to  a  full  Extent,  and  the 
prefent  Accidents  of  War  and  Forreign  Interruption  of  Trade 
confider'^  rather  beyond  the  vent  of  them  than  under  ic 

Sup«- 


Suppofenow  aWork-houfe  for  Employment  of  Poor  Children, 
fets  them  to  fpinning  of  Worfted.-'-For  every  Skein  of  Worfled 
thefe  Poor  Children  Spin,  there  muftbe  a  Skein  the  lefs  Spun  by 
fome  poor  Family  or  Perfon  that  fpun  it  before  5  fuppofe  the  Ma- 
nufafture  of  making  B^iystohQ  erQ^tdm  Bijhopsgate-Jlreet^  unlefs 
the  Makers  of  thefe  Bays  can  at  the  fame  time  find  out  a  Trade  or 
Confumption  for  more  Bays  than  were  made  before.  For  every 
piece  of  Bays  fo  made  in  London  there  muft  be  a  Piece  the  lefs  made 
at  Colechefter. 

I  humbly  appeal  to  the  Honourable  Houfe  of  Commons  what 
this  may  be  call'd,  and  with  fubmiflionjithink  it  is  nothing  at  all 
to  Employing  the  Poor,  fince  'tis  only  the  tranfpofing  the  Manu- 
fadlure  from  Colchefter  to  London,  and  taking  the  Bread  out  of 
the  Mouths  of  the  Poor  of  Effex  to  put  it  into  the  Mouths  of  the 
Poor  of  Middle/ex, 

If  thefe  worthy  Gentlemen,  wholhow  themfelves  fo  commen- 
dably  forward  to  Relieve  and  Employ  thePoor,  will  find  out  fome 
new  Trade,  fome  new  Market,  where  the  Goods  they  make  (hall 
be  fold,  where  none  of  the  fame  Goods  were  fold  before  ;  if  they 
will  fend  them  to  any  place  where  they  (hall  not  interfere  with  the 
reft  of  that  Manufafture,  or  with  fome  other  made  in  England, 
then  indeed  they  will  do  fomething  worthy  of  themfelves,  and 
may  employ  the  Poor  to  the  fame  glorious  Advantage  as  Queen 
Elizabeth  did,  to  whom  this  Nation,  as  a  trading  Country,  owes 
its  peculiar  Greatneis. . 

If  thefe  Gentlemen  could  eftablifh  a  Trade  to  Mufeovy  for  Eng' 
lijh  Serges^  or  obtain  an  Order  from  the  Czar^  that  all  his  Sub- 
jefts  fhould  wear  Stockings  who  wore  none  before,  every  poor 
Child's  Labour  in  Spining  and  Knitting  thofe  Stockings,  and  all  the 
Wool  in  them  would  be  clear  gain  to  the  Nation,  and  the  general 
Stock  would  be  improved  by  it,  becaufe  all  the  growth  of  our 
Country,  and  all  the  Labour  of  a  Perfon  who  was  Idle  before,  is 
fo  much  clear  Gain  to  the  General  Stock. 

If  they  will  Employ  the  Poor  in  fome  Manufadure  which  was 
not  made  in  E^^/^W  before,  or  not  bought  with  fome  Manufacture 
made  here  before,  then  they  offer  at  fomething  extraordinary. 

But  to  fet  Poor  People  at  Work,  on  the  fame  thing  which  0- 
ther  poor  People  were  employ'd  on  before,  and  at  the  fame  time 
not  encreafe  the  Confumpticn,  is  giving  to  one  what  you  take 

avi'ay 


.[  17  ] 

away  from  another ;  enriching  one  poor  Man  to  ftarve  another 
putting  a  Vagabond  into  an  honefl:  Man's  Employment,  and  put- 
ting his  Diligence  on  the  Tenters  to  find  out  fomef  other  Work  to 
maintain  his  Family. 

As  this  is  not  at  all  profitable,  fo  with  Submiffion  for  the  Extfref- 
fton^  I  cannot  fay 'tis  honeft,  becaufe 'tis  tranrplanting  and  carry- 
ing the  poor  Peoples  Lawful  Employment  from  the  Place  where 
was  their  Lawful  Settlement,  and  the  hard  (hip  of  thisc?//r  Lm 
fi7;;^^^r'^  is  Intolerable.     For  Example. 

The  Manufacture  of  making  Bays  is  now  Eftablifli'd  at  Col^ 
chejier  in  EJfex^  fuppofe  it  fhould  be  attempted  to  be  Ereded  in 
Middlefexy  as  a  certain  Worthy  and  Wealthy  Gentleman  near 
Hackney  once  propos'd,  it  may  be  fuppos'd  if  you  will  grant  the 
Skill  in  Working  the  fame,  and  the  Wages  the  fame,  that  they 
muftbe  made  cheaper  in  M/W^/^yr.v  than  in  £//>jf,  and  cheapnefs 
certainly  will  make  the  Merchant  buy  here  rather  than  there,  and 
fo  in  time  all  the  Bay  making  at  Colchefter  Dyes,  and  the  Staple 
for  that  Commodity  is  remov'd  to  London. 
.  What  muft  the  Poor  oiCokheJler  do,  there  they  buy  a  Paro* 
chial  Settlement,  thofe  that  have  numerous  Families  cannot  fol- 
low the  Manufa^ure  and  come  up  to  London^  for  our  Parochial 
Laws  Impower  the  Church,  wardens  to  refufe  them  a  Settlement, 
fo  that  they  are  confin'd  to  their  own  Countrey,  and  the  Bread 
taken  out  of  their  Mouths,  and  all  this  to  feed  Vagabonds,  and 
to  fet  them  to  Work,  who  by  their  choice  would  be  idle^  and 
who  merit  the  Corredlion  of  the  Law. 

There  is  another  Grievance  which  I  fhall  endeavour€-o  touch  at, 
which  every  Man  that  wifhes  well  to  the  Poor  does  not  forefee,and 
which,  with  humble  Submiffion  to  theGentlemen  that  contrived 
this  Aft,  I  fee  no  notice  taken  of. 

There  are  Arcanas  in  Trade,  which  though  they  are  the  Na- 
tural Confequences  of  Time  and  cafual  Circumftances,  are  yet 
become  now  fo  Elfential  to  the  Publick  Benefit,  that  to  alter  or 
diforder,  them  would  be  an  irreparable  Damage  to  the  Publick. 

Ifliall  explain  myfelfasconcifeiy  as  lean. 

TheManufadluresof  EngUnd2i\'t  happily  fettled  in  different 
Corners  of  the  Kingdom,  from  whence  they  are  mutually  con- 
veyed by  a  Circulation  of  Trade  to  London  by  Wholefale,  like  the 
Blood  to  the  Heart,  and  from  thence  difperfe  in  lefTer  quantities 

C  to 


I  »8  ] 

to  the  otfier  parts  of  the  Kingdom  by  RetaiL    For  Example: 

Serges  aremadeat  Exeter ^TaantonyhQ.  Stuffs  2it Norwich-,  Bajs^ 
Sayes,:jhaioom,k'C.  at  Colchefter^  Bockingy  Sudbury,  and  Farts  adjacent. 
Fine  Cloaife  vaSomerfet^  WiltSy  Gloucefler  and  WorcePerjhire,  Gourfe 
Cloath  in  Torkjhire,  Kjnt^  Surry,  Sic,  Druggets  at  Far^haw^  iVw- 
hury^kc.  All  thefe  fend  up  the  Grofs  of  their  Quantity  to  LonAoriy 
and  receive  each  others  Sorts  in  Retail  for  their  own  ufe  again. 
Norwich  Buys  Exeter  Serges,  Exeter  Buys  Norwich  Stuffs ;  all  at 
Londofty  Torkfhire  Buys  Fine  Cloths,  and  Gloucefler  Courfe,  fVill  at 
London  ;  and  the  like,,  of  a  vafl  Variety  of  our  Manufactures. 

By  this  Exchange  of  Manufactures  abundance  of  Trading  Fa- 
milies are  maintain'dby  the  Carriage  and  Re-carriage  of  Goods, 
vaft  number  of  Men  and  Cattle  are  employed,  and  numbers  of 
Inholders,  Vidua  Hers,  and  their  Dependencies  fubfiftedi 

And  on  thisaccount  I  cannot  but  obferve  to  your  Honours,  and 
'tis  well  worth  your  Confideration,  that  the  already  Tranfpofing 
a  vaft  Woollen  Manufadure  from  feveral  Farts  o^  England  to  Lon^ 
don,  is  a  manifeft  detriment  to  Trade  in  general,  the  feveral  Wool* 
len  Goods  now  made  in  Spittlefaldsy  where  within  this  few  Years^ 
were  none  at  all  made,  has  already  vifibly  affeftcd  the  feveral  Parts, 
where  they  were  before  made,  as  Norwich,  Sudbury,  Farnham, 
andotherTowns,  many  ofwhofeFrincipalTradefmen  are  now 
removed  hither,  employ  their  Stocks  here,  employ  the  Poor  here, 
and  leave  the  Poor  of  thofe  Countries  to  fhift  for  Work. 

This  Breach  of  the  Circulation  of  Trade  muft  neceffarily  Di- 
flemper  the  Body,  and  I  crave  leave  to  give  an  Example  or  two. 

ril  prefume  to  give  an  Example  in  Trade,  which  perhaps  the 
Gentlemen  concern'd  in  this  Bill  may,  without  Refle6lion  upon 
their  knowledge,  be  ignorant  of. 

The  City  o\  Norwich,  and  parts  adjacent,  were  for  fome  Ages. 
cmploy'd  in  the  Manufa61ures  of  Stuffs  and  Stockings. .  ^ 

The  Latter  Trade,  which  was  once  confiderable,  is  in  a  man- 
ner wholly  tranfpos'dinto  London,  by  the  vail:  quanties  of  work- 
ed Hofe  Wove  by  the  Frame,  v^hich  is  a  Trade  within  this  20 
i'ears  almoft  wholly  nev/. 

Now  as  the  knitting  Frame  perform  that-in  a  Day  which  would 
otherwife  emv  loy  a  poor  Woman  eight  or  ten  Days,  by  confe- 
quence  a  few  Frames  pcrform'd  the  Work  of  many  Thoufand  poor 
People  j  and  the  Confumption  being  not  increafed,  theEfte^l  i.Ti- 

,  mediately 


1^9  1 

mediately  appear 'd :  fo  many  Stockings  as  were  madeui  Londonio 
many  the  fewer  were  demanded  from  Norwich^  till  in  a  few  Years 
the  Manufa£lure  there  wholly  funk,*the  Matters  there  turn'd  their 
hands  to  other  Bufinefs ;  and  whereas  the  Hofe  Trade  from  Nor- 
folk once  return'd  at  leaft  $000 s. per  Week,  and  asfome  fay  twice 
that  Sum,  'tis  not  now  worth  naming. 

'Tis  in  fewer  Years,  and  near  oar  Memory,  thdtt  0^ S pit tle-fe Ids 
Men  have  fallen  into  another  branch  of  the  Norivicb  Trade,  viz. 
making  of  Stuffs,  Drugets,  &c. 

If  any  Man  fay  the  People  0^  Norfolk  are  yet  full  of  Employ,  and 
do  not  Work ;  and  fome  have  been  fo  weak  as  to  make  that  Re- 
ply, avoiding  the  many  other  Demonftrations  which  could  be  gi- 
ven, this  is  paft  anfwering,  viz,.  That  tlie  Combers  of  Wool  in 
Norfolk  and  Suffolk^  who  formerly  had  all,  or  ten  Parts  in  eleven 
of  their  Yarn  Manufadur'd  in  the  Country,  now  comb  theit 
Wool  indeed,  and  fpin  the  Yarn  in  the  Country,  but  fend  vaft 
Quanties  of  it  to  London  to  be  woven ;  will  any  Man  queftion 
whether  this  be  not  a  Lofs  to  Norwich-^  Can  there  be  as  many  Wea- 
vers as  before  ?  And  are  there  not  abundance  of  Work- men  and 
Matters  too  remov'd  to  London  ? 

If  it  be  fo  at  Norwich,  Cunterbury  is  yet  more  a  melancholy  In- 
ftance  of  it,  where  the  Houfes  ftand  empty,  and  the  People  go 
off,  and  the  Trade  dye,becaufe  the  Weaversare  follow'd  the  Ma- 
nufafture  to  London  ;  and  whereas  there  was  within  few  Years  200 
broad  Looms  at  Work,  I  amVell  affur'd  there  ar€  not  50  now 
Employ'd  in  that  City, 

Thefe  are  the  Effe6ls  of  tranfpofing  MatiufadVures,  and  inter- 
rupting  the  Circulation  of  Trade. 

All  Methods  tobring  our  Trade  to  be  manag'd  by  fewer  hands 
than  it  was  befoi^,  are  in  themfelves  pernicious  to  England  in  gene- 
ral, as  it  leffens  the  Employment  of  the  Poor,  unhinges  their 
Hands  from  the  Labour,  and  tends  to  bring  our  Hands  to  be  fu- 
perior  to  our  Employ,  which  as  yet  it  is  not. 

In  Dorfetjhire  and  Somerfetfhire  there  always  has  been  a  very  con-* 
fiderable  Manufadure  for  Stockings,  at  Cokhefier  and  Sudbury  for 
Bayes,  Sayes,  &c,  moftof  the  Wool  thefe  Countries  ufe  is  bought 
at  London,  and  carried  down  into  thofe  Counties,  and  then  the 
Goods  being  Manufaftur'd  are  brought  back  to  London  to  Market; 
upon  tranfpofing  the  Manufadure  as  before,  all  the  poor  People 

C  2  and 


C  20  ] 


and  all  theCattel  who  hitherto  were  Employ 'd  in  that  Vbiture^zte 
immediately  disbanded  by  their  Country,  the  Inkeepers  on  the 
Roads  murt  Decay,  fo  much  Land  lye  for  other  ufes,  as  the  Cattle 
Employ'd,Houfes  and  Tenement  on  the  Roads,  and  all  their  De- 
pendencies fink  in  S^'alue. 

'Tis  hard  to  calculate  what  a  blow  it  would  be  to  Trade  in  ge- 
neral, fhould  every  County  but  Manufadure  all  the  feveral  forts 
of  Goods  they  ufe,  it  would  throw  our  Inland  Trade  into  ftrange 
Convulfions,  which  at  prefent  is  perhaps,or  has  been,  in  the  greac- 
eft  Regularity  of  any  in  the  World. 

What  ftrange  Work  muft  it  then  make  when  every  Town  fhall 
have  a  Manufadure,  and  every  Parifli  be  a  Ware-houfe ;  Trade 
will  be  burthen'd  with  Corporations,  which  are  generally  equally 
deftruQive  as  Monopolies,and  by  this  Method  will  eafily  be  made  (o. 
Parifb  Stocks,  under  the  Direftion  of  Juftices  of  Peace,  may  foon 
come  to  fet  up  petty  Manufa8:ures,  and  here  (hall  all  ufeful  things 
be  made,  and  all  the  poorer  fort  of  People  fhall  beaw'd  orbyafs'd 
to  Trade  there  only.  Thus  the  Shop-keepers,  who  pay  Taxes, 
and  are  the  Support  of  our  inland  Circulation,  will  immediately 
be  ruin'd,  and  thus  we  fhall  beggar  the  Nation  to  provide  for  the 
Poor. 

As  this  will  make  every  Parifh  a  Market  Town,  and  every  Ho& 
pital  a  Store- houfe,  fo  in  Londofj^  and  the  adjacent  Parts,  to  which 
vaft  quantities  of  the  Woollen  Manufe£lure  will  be  thus  tranfplan- 
ted  thither,  will  in  time  too  great  &nd  difproportion'd  Numbers 
of  the  People  afTemble. 

,     Tho'  the  fettled  Poor  can't  remove,  yet  fingle  People  will  ftfoul 

about  and  follow  the  Manufafturer ;  and  thus  in  time  fuch  vaft 

;:  numbers  will  bqdrawn  about  London^zs  may  be  inconvenient  to  the 

^<GQvernment,and  efpecially  Depopulating  to  thofe  Countries  where 

the  numbers  of  People,  by  reafon  of  thefe  Manufadures  are  very 

confiderable. 

An  eminent  Inftance  of  this  we  have  in  the  prefent  Trade  to  A&/ 
4sovyy  which  however  defign'd  for  an  Improvement  to  the  Engli(h 
Nation,  and  boafted  of  as  fuch,  appears  to  be  Converted  into  a  Mo- 
nopoly, and  provesInjuriousandDeftru6live  to  the  Nation.  The 
Peifons  concern'd  removing  and  carrying  out  our  People  to  teach 
that  unpoliih'd  Nation  the  Improvements  they  are  capable  of. 

If 


If  the  bringing  the  Flemings  to  England  brought  with  them  their 
Manufafture  and  Trade,  carrying  our  People  abroad,  efpecially 
to  a  Country  where  the  People  work  for  Uttle  or  nothing,  what 
may  it  not  do  towards  Intruding  that  populous  Nation  in  fuch 
Manufactures  as  may  in  time  tend  to  the  deftruQion  of  our 
Trade,  or  the  reducing  our  Manufadure  to  an  Abatement  in  Va- 
lue, which  will  be  felt  at  home  by  an  abatement  of  Wages,  and 
that  in  Provifions,  and  that  in  Rent  of  Land ;  and  fo  the  general 
Stock  finks  of  Courfe. 

But  as  this  is  preparing,  by  eminent  Hands,  to  be  laid  before 
this  Houfe  as  a  Grievance  meriting  your  Care  and  Concern,  I 
omit  infifting  on  it  here. 

And  this  removing  of  People  is  attended  with  many  Inconveni- 
encies  which  are  not  eafily  perceived,  as 

^  r.  The  immediate  fall  of  the  Value  of  all  Lands  in  thofc  Coun- 
tries where  the  Manufactures  were  before ;  for  as  the  numbers  of 
People,  by  the  Confumption  of  Provifions,  mull:  where  ever  they 
encreafe  make  Rents  rife,  and  Lands  valuable;  fo  thofe  People 
removing,  tho'  the  Provifions  would,  if  poflible,  follow  them, 
yet  the  Price  of  them  muft  fsftl  by  all  that  Charge  they  are  at  for 
Carriage,  and  confequently  Lands  muft  fall  in  Proportion. 

"2.  This  Tranfplanting  of  Families,  in  time,  would  introduce 
great  and  new  Alterations  in  the  Countries  they  remiOved  to,  which 
as  they  would  be  to  the  Profit  of  fome  Places,  would  be  to  the  De- 
triment of  others,  and  can  by  no  means  be  juil  any  more  than  ic 
is  convenient ;  for  no  wife  Government  fl:udies  to  put  any  Branch 
of  their  Country  to  any  particular  Difad  vantages,  tho'  it  may  be 
found  in  the  general  Account  in  another  Place. 

If  it  be  faid  here  will  be  Manufactures  in  every  Parifh,  and  that 
will  keep  the  People  at  home, 

I  humbly  reprefent  whatftrange  Confufion  and  particular  De- 
triment  to  the  general  Circulation  of  Trade  mention  d  before  it  muil 
be,  to  have  every  PariQi  make  its  own  Manufactures. 

1.  It  will  make  our  Towns  and  Counties  independent  of  one 
another,  and  put  a  damp  to  Correfpondence,  which  all  will  allow 
to  be  a  great  Motive  ot  Trade  in  general. 

2.  It  will  fill  us  with  various  forts  and  kinds  of  Manufactures, 
by  which  our  Itated  forts  of  Goods  will  in  time  dwindle  away  in 
Reputation,  and  Foreigners  not  know  them  one  from  another. 

Our 


[22    J 

Our  feveral  Maniifa£lures  are  ^known  by  their  refpec^ire  Names  ; 
and  our  Serges,  Bayes  and  other  Goods,  are  bought  abroad  by  the 
Chara^ler  and  Re^ucation  of  the  Places  where  they  are  made; 
when  there  flran  ijOme  new  and  unheard  of  Kinds  to  Market, 
fome  better,  fome  worfe,  as  to  befure  new  Undertakers  wilivary 
in  kinds,  the  Dignity  and  Reputation  of  the  E^gltfiHoads  abroad 
will  be  lofl^  and  fo  many  Confufions  in  Trade  tnuil  follow ,  as  are 
too  many  to  repeat. 

g.  Either  our  Farifh-ftock  muft  fell  by  Wholefaleor  by  Retail, 
or  both  ;  if  the  firft,  'tis  doubted  they  will  make  forry  work  of  it, 
and  having  other  Bufinefs  of  their  own  make  but  poor  Merchants ; 
if  by  Retail,  then  they  turn  Pedlars,  will  be  a  publick  nufance 
to  Trade,  and  at  lall  quite  ruin  it. 

4.  This  will  ruin  all  the  Carriers  in  EngUnA^  the  Wool  will  be 
all  Manufaftured  where  it  is  (heer'd,  every  body  will  make  their 
own  Cloaths,  and  the  Trade  which  now  lives  by  running  thro' 
a  multitude  of  Hands,  will  go  then  through  fo  few,  that  thoufands 
of  Families  will  want  Employment,  and  this  is  the  only  way  to 
reduce  us  to  the  Condition  fpoken  of,  to  have  more  Hands  than 
Work.  * 

'Tis  the  excellence  of  our  Englijh  Manufa£lure,  that  it  is  fo  plant- 
ed as  to  go  thro'  as  many  Hands  as  'tis  poffible ;  he  that  contrives 
to  have  it  go  thro'  fewer,  ought  at  the  6me  time  to  provide  ^ork 
for  the  reft- —  As  it  is  it  Employs  a  great  multitude  of  People,  and 
can  employ  more ;  but  if  a  confiderable  number  of  thefe  People 
be  unhing'd  from  their  Employment,  it  cannot  but  be  detrimen- 
tal to  the  whole. 

When  I  fay  we  could  employ  more  People  in  England,  I  do  not 
mean  that  we  cannot  do  our  Work  with  thofe  we  have,  but  I 
mean  thus : 

Firft-,  It  (bould  be  more  People  brought  over  from  foreign  Parts. 
I  do  not  mean  that  thofe  we  have  fhould  be  taken  from  all  com- 
mon Employments  and  put  to  our  Manufadure ;  we  may  une- 
qually difpofe  of  our  Hands,  and  fo  have  too  many  for  fome 
Works,  and  too  few  for  others ;  and  'tis  plain  that  in  fome  parts  of 
England  it  is  fo,  what  elfe  can  be  the  reafon,  why  in  our  Southern 
Parts  of  England^  Kjnt  in  particular,  borrows  20000  People  of 


other  Counties  to  get  in  her  Harveft-. 


But 


But  if  more  Forreigners  came  among  us,  if  it  were  2  Millions 
it  could  do  us  no  harm,  becaufe  they  would  confume  our  Provi- 
fions,  and  we  have  Landenough  to  produce  much  more  than  we 
do,  and  they  would  confume  our  Manufactures,  and  we  have 
Wool  enough  for  any  Quantity. 

I  think  therefore,  with  fubmilTion,  to  eretb  Manufaftures  in  e- 
very  Town  to  tranfpofe  the  Manufadures  from  the  fettled  places 
into  private  Pariflies  and  Corporations,  to  parcel  out  our  Trade  to 
every  Door,  it  mull:  be  ruinous  to  the  Manufa6lurers  themfelves, 
will  turn  thogfands  of  Families  out  of  their  Employments,  and 
take  the  Bread  out  of  the  Mouths  of  diligent  and  induftrious  Fami- 
lies to  feed  Vagrants,  Thieves  and  Beggars,  who  ought  much  ra- 
ther to  be  compell'd,  by  Legal  Methods,  to  leek  that  Work  which 
it  is  plain  is  to  be  had ;  and  thus  this  A 6l^w  ill  inftead  of  fettling  and 
relieving  the  Poor,  encreafe  their  Number,  and  ftarvethe  beft 
of  them. 

It  remains  now,  according  to  my  firft  Propofal  Page  9.  to  con* 
fiderfrom  whence  proceeds  the  Poverty  of  our  People,  what  Ac- 
cident, what'Decay  of  Trade,  what  want  of  Employment,  what, 
ftrange  Revolution  of  Circumftances  makes  our  People  Poor  and- 
confequently  Burthenfom,  and  our  Laws  Deficient,  fo  as  to  make 
more  and  other  Laws  Requifite,  and  the  Nation  concerned  to  ap- 
ply, a  Remedy  to  this  growing  Difeafe.    I  Anfwer. 

I,  Not  for  want  of  Work ;  and  befides  what  has  been  faid  on 
tfi'at  Head,  I  humbly  defirethefe  two  things  may  beconfider'd. 

Firil:,  'Tis  apparent,  Thatif  one  Man,  Woman,  or  Child,  can 
by  his>  or  her  Labour,  earn  more  Money  than  will  fubfift  one 
body,  there  muft  confequently  be  no  want  of  Work,  fince  any 
Man  would  Work  for  juft;  as  much  as  would  fupply  himfelf rather 
than  rtarve-  --  What  a  vaft  difference  then  mud  there  be  between 
the  Work  and  the  Work-men,  when 'tis  now  known  that  in  Spu^ 
t/e-fieUs,  and  orher  adjacent  parts  of  the  City,  there  is  nothing 
more  frequent  than  for  a  Journey-man  Weaver,  of  many  forts  to 
gain  from  1 5  j.  to  ^os.  per  Week  Wages,  .and  I  appeal  to  the  Silk 
Throwfters,  whether  they  do  not  give  8  j.  9^.  and  10/.  per  Week 
to  blind  Men  and  Cripples,  to  turn  Wheels,  and  do  the  meanett 
and  moft  ordinary  Works. 


C  24 


Cur  Mori  at  ur  Homo^&c, 

Why  are  the  Families  of  thefe  Men  ftarv'd,  and  their  Children 
in  Work-houfes,  and  brought  up  by  Charity  :  I  am  ready  to  pro- 
duce to  this  Honourable  Houfe  the  Man  who  for  feveral  Years 
has  gain'd  of  me  by  his  handy  Labour  at  the  mean  fcoundrel  Em- 
ployment of  Tile  making  from  16  s.  to  20  s.  per  Week  Wages,  and 
all  that  time  would  hardly  have  a  pair  of  Shoes  to  his  Feet,  or 
Cloaths  to  cover  his  Nakednefs,  and  had  his  Wife  and  Children 
kept  by  the  Parifh.  -.■• 

The  meaneft  Labours  in  this  Nation  afford  the  Work- men  fuf- 
ficient  to  provide  for  himfelf  and  his  Family,  and  that  could  never 
be  if  there  was  a  want  of  Work. 

2. 1  humbly  defire  this  Honourable  Houfeto  confider  the  prefenc 
Difficulty  of  Raifing  Soldiers  in  this  Kingdom  ;  the  vail  Charge 
the  Kingdom  is  at  to  the  Officers  to  procure  Men  ;  the  many  little 
and  not  ever  honeft  Methods  made  ufe  of  to  bring  them  into  the  Ser- 
vice, the  Laws  made  to  compel  them  ;  Why  are  Goals  rumag'd  for 
Malefadors,  and  the  Mint  andPrifbns  for  Debtors,  the  War  is  an 
Employment  of  Honour,  and  fuffersfome  fcandalin  having  Men 
taken  from  the  Gallows,  and  immediately  fromVillains  and  Houfe- 
breakers  made  Gentlemen  Soldiers.    If  Men  wanted  Employ- 
ment, and  confequently  Bread,  this  could  never  be,  any  Man 
would  carry   a  Mufquet  rather  than   ftarve,    and  wear  the 
Queens  Cloth,   or  any  Bodies  Cloth,    rather  than  go  Naked, 
and  live  in  Rags  and  want;    'tis  plain  the  Nation  is  full  of 
People,  and  'tis  as  plain  our  People  have  no  particular  averfion 
to  the  War,  but  they  are  not  poor  enough  to  go  abroad ;  'tis  Po- 
verty makes  Men  Soldiers,  and  drives  crowds  into  the  Armies,  and 
the  Difficulties  to  get  Englt/h-rnQn  to  Lift  is,  becaufe  they  live  in 
Plenty  and  Eafe,  and  he  that  can  earn  20  s.  per  Week  at  an  eafie, 
fteady  Employment,  muft  be  Drunk  or  Mad  when  he  Lifts  for 
a  Soldier,  to  be  knock'd  o'th'Head  for  -^  s.  6  d,  per  W^eek;  but  if 
there  was  no  Work  to  be  had,  if  the  Poor  wanted  Employment, 
it  they  had  not  Bread  to  eat,  nor  knew  not  how  to  earn  it,  thou- 
sands of  young  lufty  Fellows  would  fly  to  the  Pike  and  Mufquet, 
and  ciioofe  to  dye  like  Men  in  the  Face  of  the  Enemy,  rather 
tbaalye  at  home,  ftarve,  perifli  in  Poverty  and  Diftrefs. 

From 


C  =5  3 

From  all  thefe  Particulars,  and  innumerable  unhappy  Inflances 
which  might  be  given,  'tis  plain,  the  Poverty  of  our  People 
which  isfo  burthenfome,  and  increafes  upon  us  fo  much,  does  not 
arife  from  want  of  proper  Employments,  and  for  want  of  Work, 
or  Employers,  and  confequently, 

Work-houfes,  Corporations,  Parifli- flocks,  and  the  like,  to 
fet  them  to  Work,  as  they  are  Pernicious  to  Trade,  Injurious 
and  Impoverifhing  to  thofe  already  em  ploy 'd,  fo  they  are  need- 
lefs,  and  will  come  fhort  of  the  End  propos'd. 

The  Poverty  and  Exigence  of  the  Poor  in  England^  is  plainly 
deriv'd  from  one  of  thefe  two  particular  Caufes, 
Cajualtj  or  Crime. 

By  Cafuaky,  I  mean  Sicknefs  of  Families,  lofs  of  Limbs  or 
Sight,  and  any,  either  Natural  or  Accidental  Impotence  as  to 
Labour. 

Thefe  as  Infirmities  meerly  Providential  are  not  at  all  con« 
cern'd  in  this  Debate;  ever  were,  will,  and  ought  tobe  the  Charge 
and  Care  of  the  Refpe6live  Parifhes  where  fuch  unhappy  People 
chance  to  live,  nor  is  there  any  want  of  new  Laws  to  make  Pro- 
vifion  for  them,  our  Anceftors  having  been  always  careful  to 
do  it. 

The  Crimes  of  our  People,  and  from  whence  their  Poverty 
derives,  as  the  vifible  and  direft  Fountains  are, 

1.  Luxury. 

2.  Sloath. 
5.  Pride. 

Good  Husbandry  is  no  E^glijh  Vertue,  it  may  have  been 
brought  over,  and  in  fome  Places  where  it  has  been  planted  it  has 
thriven  well  enough,  but  'tis  a  Forreign  Species,  it  neither  loves 
nor  isbelov'd  by  an  Engltlh-mm;  and 'tis  obferv'd,  nothing  is 
founiverfally  hated,  nothing  treated  with  fuch  a  general  Con* 
tempt  as  a  Ricli  Covetous  Man,  tho'he  does  no  Man  any  Wrong 
only  faveshisown,  every  Man  will  have  an  ill  word  for  him,  if  a 
Misfortune  happens  to  him,  hang  him  a  covetous  old  Rogue, 
tis  no  Matter,  he's  Rich  enough,  nay  when  a  certain  great' 
Man's  Houfe  was  on  Fire,  I  have  heard  the  People  fay  one  to  a- 
nother,  let  it  burn  and  'twill,  he's  a  covetous  old  miferly  Dog  I 
wo'nt  trouble  my  head  to  help  him,  he'd  be  hang'd  before  he'd 
give  us  a  bit  of  Bread  if  we  wanted  it, 

E)  The' 


C  2^  3 

Tho' this  be  a  Fault,  yet  I  obferve  trom  it  romething  of  the  ■ 
natural  Temper  and  Genius  of  the  Nation,  generally  ipei^dng, 
they  cannot  fave  their  Money. 

'Tis  generally  faid  the  Engliflj  get  Eftates,  and  the  Datch  fav^ 
them  ;  and  this  Obfervation  I  have  made  between  Forreignecs 
and  Engli(b-meny  that  v;here  an  Englilh-marf  Q^vns  2os.perWed{, 
^ndhutjuft  lives^  as  we  call  it,  a  Dutch-man  grows  Rich,  and 
leaves  his  Children  in  very  good  Gondition  ;  where  an  Engli[h  la- 
bouring Man  with  his  9/.  ^^y  Week  Uves  wretchedly  and  poor, 
a  Dutch-mm  with  that  Wages  will  live  very  tolerably  well,  keep 
the  Wolf  from  the  Door,  and  have  every  thing  handfome  aboiK 
him.  In  fliort,  he  will  be  Rich  with  the  fame  Gain  as  makes 
xhtEngUfh-mAn  poor,  he'll  thrive  when  the  other  goes  in  Rags, 
and  hell  live  when  the  other  ftarve^,  of  goes  a  begging. 

The  Reafon  is  plain,  a  Man  with  good  Husbandry,  and 
Thought  in  his  Head,  brings  home  his  Earnings  honeftly  to  his 
Family,  commits  it  to  the  Management  of  his  Wife,  orotherwife 
difpofes  it  for  proper  Subfiftance,  and  this  Man  with  mean  Gains 
lives  comfortably,  and  brings  up  a  Family,  when  a  fingle  Maa 
getting  the  fame  Wages,  Drinks  it  away  at  the  Ale-houfe,  thinks 
not  of  to  morrow,  layesup  nothing  for  Sicknefs,  Age,  or  Difaften, 
and  when  any  of  thefe  happen  he's  ftarv'd,  and  a  Beggar. 

This  is  fo  apparent  in  every  place,  that  I  think  it  needs  no  EiCi- 
plication ;  that  E/fglifb  Labouring  Peoplo  eat  and  drink,  but  efpeci- 
ally  the  latter  three  times  as  much  in  velue  as  any  fort  of  Forreig- 
ners  of  the  fame  Dimenfions  in  the  World. 

I  am  not  Writing  this  as  a  Satyr  on  our  People, 'tis  a  fad  Truth ; 
and  Worthy  tht?  Debate  and  Application  of  the  Nations  Phyfitians 
AfTembled  in  Parliament,  the  profufe  Extravagant  Humour  of  our 
poor  People  in  eating  and  drinking,  keeps  them  low,  caufes  their 
Children  to  be  left  naked  andftarving,  to  the  careof  theParifhes, 
whenever  either  Sicknefs  or  Difafter  befalls  the  Parento 

The  next  Article  is  thQirS loath. 

We  are  the  mod  Lazy  DUigern  Nation  in  the  World,  vaft 
Trade,  Rich  Manufactures,  mighty  Wealth,  univerfal  Corre- 
fpondence  and  happy  Succefs  has  been  conftant  Companions  of 
England^  and  given  US  the  Title  of  an  Induftrious  People,  and  fo 
in  general  we  are. 

But 


l^7l 

But  there  Is  a  general  Taint  of  Slothfulnefs  upon  our  Poor,there^s 
nothing  more  frequent,  than  for  an  £/7^///&-w^4«  to  Work  till  he 
has  got  his  Pocket  full  of  Money,  and'  then  go  and  be  idle,  or 
perhaps  drank^  till  'tis  all  gone,  and  perhaps  himfelf  in  Debt;  and 
ask  him  in  his  Cups  what  he  intends,  he'll  tell  you  honeftly,  he'll 
drink  as  long  as  it  lafts,  and  then  go  to  work  for  more. 

I  humbly  fuggeft  this  Diftemper'sfo  General,  fo  Epidemick', 
and  fo  deep  Rooted  in  the  Nature  and  GeniuS  of  the  Engltjh^  that 
I  much  doubt  it's  being  eafily  redrefs'd,  and  queftion  whether  it 
be  poffible  to  reach  it  by  an  A£t  of  Parliament. 

This  is  the  Ruine  of  our  Poor,  the  Wife* mourns,  the  Children 
fiarves,  the  Husband  has  Work  before  him^  but  lies  at  the  Ale- 
houfe,  or  otherwife  idles  away  his  time,  and  won't  Work. 

'Tisthe  Men  that  wont  rvorky  not  the  Men  that  can  get  no  worh^ 
which  makes  the  numbers  of  our  Poor  ;  all  the  Work-houfes  in 
£^^/^W,  all  the  Overfeers  fetting  up  Stocks  and  Manufadures 
won't  reach  this  Cafe ;  and  I  humbly  prefume  to  fay,  if  thcfe  two 
Articles  are  removed,  there  will  be  no  need  of  the  other. 

I  make  no  Difficulty  to  promife  on  a  (hort  Summons,  to  pro- 
duce above  a  Thoufand  Families  in  England,  within  my  particu- 
lar knowledge,  who  go  in  Rags,  and  their  Children  wanting 
Bread,  whofe  Fathers  can  earn  their  1 5  to  255.  fer  Week,  but 
will  not  work,  who  may  have  Work  enough,  but  are  too  [idle  to 
feek  after  it,  and  hardly  vouchfafe  to  earn  any  thing  more  than 
bare  Subfiftance,  and  Spending  Money  for  themfelves. 

I  can  give  an  incredible  number  of  Examples  in  my  own  = 
Knowledge  among  our  Labouring  Poor.  I  once  paid  6  or  7  Men  ^ 
together  on  a  J^Var^^;  Night,  the  lead  10/.  and  fome  30  s.  for 
Work,  and  have  feen  them  go  with  it  direcbly  to  the  ALe-houfe, 
lie  there  till  Monday,  fpend  it  every  Penny,  and  run  in  Debt  to 
boot,  and  not  give  a  Farthing  of  it  to  their  Families,  tho'  all  of 
them  had  Wives  and  Children. 

From  hence  comes  Poverty,  Parifh  Charges,  and  Beggary,  if  e-- 
ver  one  of  thefe  Wretches  falls  fick,    all  they  would  ask  was  a 
Pafsto  the  Parifh  theyliv'd  at,   and  the  Wife  and  Children  to  th& 
Door  a  Begging. 

If  this  Plonourable  Hcufe  can  -find  out  a  Remedy  for  this  part  of 
the  Mifchief ;  if  fuch  Adls  of  Parliament  may  be  made  as  may  cf- 
fedually  curethe  Sloth  and  Luxury  of  our  Poor,  that  fhall  make 

Drun- 


C  .8  ] 

Drunkards  take  care  of  Wife  and  Children,  fpendthnfts,  lay  up 
for  a  ivet  Day,  Idle,  Lazy  Fellows  Diligent;  and  Thouglnlefs 
Sottifli  Men,  Caretul  and  Provident. 

If  this  can  be  done,  I  prefunie  to  fay  there  will  be  no  need  of 
tranfpofingand  confounding  our  Manufadures,  and  the  Circulati- 
onof  our  Trade;  they  willfoon  find  work  enough,  and  there  will 
foon  be  lefs  Poverty  among  us,  and  if  this  cannot  be  done,  fetting 
then:i  to  work  upon  Woolen  Manufa6lures,and  thereby  encroach- 
ing upon  thofe  that  now  work  at  them,  will  but  ruine  our  Trade, 
and  confequently  increafe  the  number  of  the  Poor. 

I  do  not  prefume  to  offer  the  Schemes  I  have  now  drawn  cf 
Methods  for  the  bringing  much  of  this  topafs,  becaufe  1  {hall  not 
prefume  to  lead  a  Body  fo  Auguft,  fo  Wife,  and  fo  Capable  as 
this  Honourable  Aflembly. 

I  humbly  fubmit  what  ishere  offered,  as  Reafons  to  prove  the 
Attempt  now  making  infuiRcient ;  and  doubt  not  but  in  your 
Great  Wifdom,  you  will  find  out  Ways  and  Means  to  iet  this 
Matter  in  a  clearer  Light,  and  on  a  right  Foot. 

And  if  this  obtains  on  the  Houfe  to  examine  farther  into  this 
Matter,  the  Author  humbly  recommends  it  to  their  Confiderati- 
onto  accept,  ///  behalf  of  all  the  Poor  of  this  Nation^  aClaufe  in  the 
-room  of  this  objefted  againfl:,,  which  fhall  ?nfwer  theEnd  without 
.this  terrible  Ruin  to  cur  Trade  and  People. 


FINIS, 


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